Rebecca Helps – Green Party

This is candidate week here at the V3H! There is a by-election happening in the federal riding of New Westminster-Coquitlam on November 9, and we want to keep you informed. So this week we will be posting interviews from four candidates vying for election as MP. Each candidate answered the same 5 questions from us, and we are printing their responses verbatim, in the order in which we received them. The first one is from Rebecca Helps, candidate for the Green Party.

Can you tell us a little bit about your background, and why you would like to represent New Westminster-Coquitlam?
As a long time resident of this riding I feel that New Westminster, Coquitlam and Port Moody are great communities to live in and that we can make them stronger and healthier communities by creating more jobs locally, reducing commute time, providing more transit options and providing more resources for families and individuals.

What do you see as the most important issue currently facing New Westminster-Coquitlam?
People are losing too much time commuting back and forth to work and it’s not healthy and takes time away from their families. The federal government can step up and get the Evergreen Line going and reduce the bottlenecks in our communities.

How does your party serve the needs and concerns of local residents?
The Green Party wants to simplify government bureaucracy by reducing duplication and streamlining service. All the forms of income assistance can be put together and delivered at far less cost. Health care can improved with better funding to reduce and eliminate waitlists.

Transportation has been on the minds of many local residents, with the damage to the Murray St. overpass this summer and the uncertainty over the Evergreen Line. What are your views on how to best meet the area’s transportation needs?
There are several approaches that must be taken. As mentioned earlier, the Evergreen Line needs to get going. Our municipalities also need to focus far more on bringing work and businesses to our communities so people can work locally. Just building housing is problematic, isn’t it? Then people have to go somewhere else to work. We’ll look like Seattle with freeways everywhere. In the meantime maybe we could consider making the Murray St overpass two lanes in one direction in the morning and two lanes in the other direction in the evenings.

In the last federal election voter turnout dropped to an all-time low. How will you engage with voters and involve them in the electoral process?
Voting Helps! My name alone helps to deliver the message that democracy and good government will only survive if people take the time and care to vote. Greens know that it is the rough and crude electioneering and House of Commons practices and self-serving politicians that turn people off politics. Greens stay away from that and we aren’t beholden to any interest groups. We hope that voters see us differently because we ARE different and we are focussed on what really matters.

Thanks so much to Rebecca, for taking the time to speak with us. Please check back this week to read the rest of the candidate interviews. And, of course, if you live in New Westminster-Coquitlam, take the time to vote on November 9!